Hello, Craig!
by Witchy Bee
Summary: This was when the Doctor came to stay. Post-Angels Take Manhattan.
1. Guess Who?

**A/N: **I've wanted to write something like this for a while. I may continue it since it's pretty short. Please review!

)O(

"Hello, Craig!"

He instantly felt the familiar mix of fear, joy, excitement and dread rise up upon seeing the alien on his doorstep. It had been more than three years since the Doctor last came to visit and they'd fought those awful...cyberpeople together. Alfie was now an energetic five-year-old whose favorite bedtime story was how Daddy and the Doctor saved the world. Okay, so maybe Craig exaggerated a bit.

"Doctor! I wasn't expecting..."

"Of course you weren't," the Time Lord interrupted, stepping around him to enter the house. "No one ever expects me. Where's Sophie and Alfie?"

"She's at work. Alfie's at school. Why? Should I get them? Is it an alien invasion or something?"

"No. Why would it be?" The Doctor looked at him like _Craig_was mad, then continued making tea.

"I dunno, because you're here?"

"Don't worry. Everything is fine," he said firmly. "Why are you here? You should be at your job. That's what people do when I'm not around, isn't it?"

Craig sighed. "Got laid off, about a month ago."

"I'm sorry. That's terrible."

"Yeah."

The silence that ensued felt even more awkward than normal human awkward silence. When at last the water boiled, the Doctor poured two cups of tea. Craig still could not stop thinking something must be wrong. He never just popped in for tea and a nice chat. So what was the problem and why wouldn't he say anything?

"Doctor?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, it's just...when you were here last time, I dunno, you were talking like the world was ending."

"Oh. Yes...that. It sort of was, for me anyway. You see, Craig, I was almost certain I was going to die. A fixed point in time. Impossible to avoid and very hard to change. But here I am!" He smiled unconvincingly. "Everything's okay now."

"Right, yeah, that's good. But, Doctor, are you...okay?"

The teacup stopped halfway to the Doctor's mouth and he set it back down, focusing his ancient eyes on Craig. "I'm always okay. I've recently lost two people who meant the world to me. I'm alone again and right now if I go out into the universe I can't say what will happen. Stars explode, worlds die, civilizations fall and other very bad things; I stand at the center of it, a merciless god. I might not be able to stop myself. And I'm terrified, Craig, so would it be all right if I stay here for a while?"

His mind had difficulty comprehending what he'd just heard. After several moments of blank staring, the most intelligent reply he could manage was: "Uh...sure, I suppose."

"If it's not too much trouble," the Time Lord added quickly. "It won't be for too long, I promise. And I can cook."

"I remember. You can take the guestroom; it's no problem. Sophie won't mind and Alfie loves you."

"Really?"

"'Doctor' was his first word."

They laughed, and he smiled genuinely for the first time in many weeks. Craig was startled once again when the Doctor hugged him.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

"We're mates, yeah? And mates help each other out."


	2. Child's Play

"Alfie, no running!" she called after her son, who had somehow got it in his head that they were racing to the house.

Sophie felt exhausted, but happy to return home after a long day of work at the animal shelter. Craig would be more than willing to play with Alfie for bit and allow her to relax. Their family had grown stronger in these last challenging weeks after he lost his job. She knew he'd find a new one. They'd all make it through this.

"Hello, Sophie!" The Doctor rose from the couch to kiss her cheek, which was pretty much the very last thing she expected to happen. "I noticed that you've redecorated again. It's...nice."

"Doctor?" Alfie stared in wide-eyed astonishment at their guest. This man was his dad's friend from outer space, the reason his parents finally admitted they loved each other, and the hero in many of his favorite stories. To one little boy the Doctor was a legend. "Doctor!"

"Alfie!" the alien smiled. "You sure have grown!"

"Yeah! I'm five now," he said proudly.

"Ah, yes. Five years old. That's a good age."

"Wanna see my toys, Doctor? Come on, in my room! It's got stars on the ceiling!"

"Lead the way!"

As their son took the Doctor's hand and led him away, Sophie found herself at a loss for words. Her husband remained on the couch and waited for some kind of indication of how she might be processing this situation. She turned toward him slowly.

"Craig?"

"Yeah?"

"That was the Doctor. He's back."

"Yeah, but it's not an invasion or some other dangerous alien thing this time," Craig assured. "I promise you, Soph, we're safe. Alfie's safe. Nothing weird is going on. And if it was, he's the best person to have around."

"You're sure there's not another spaceship in our house?"

Craig laughed. "I'm sure."

"Then why _is_the Doctor here?" she wondered. "I mean, God knows we owe that man, but it's still a bit odd for him to turn up after all this time."

"He doesn't see it like that," Craig pointed out. "Besides, the Doctor is a time traveler, so it might not have been very long for him. Listen, he asked to...stay for a while."

"What?" Sophie couldn't believe it. "Why would he want to stay here if he's got a time machine that can travel anywhere in the universe?"

"Because he needs us," he said. "I think he lost someone important. The Doctor loses everyone he loves, then he blames himself. He ends up alone and forgets how good he is. He's scared that he'll do something horrible if he goes off on his own yet, so he needs his friends."

Sophie stared. "How do you know all this?"

"The Doctor told me some of it. And the rest was in his head."

The Owenses lived mostly stable, comfortable lives. In fact, Craig's unemployment had been the first obstacle they'd faced in a long time. Now the Doctor had come to stay. Who could blame her for assuming trouble was bound to follow? Of course, despite his status as a danger magnet, she knew he obviously cared about them. He wouldn't let anyone be harmed.

Suddenly a certain Time Lord ran into the front room, waving his sonic screwdriver around madly. It was then they all heard Alfie shout from his bedroom: "I'm gonna get you, Cyberman!"

"He made _me_be the Cyberman!"

Small footsteps announced their son's arrival, and thus the inevitable doom of the Cyberman.

"There you are! Now leave this planet or I'll get my dad!"

"Alfie Owens, Defender of the Earth," he said to the boy's parents before he turned back to Alfie and spoke in a robotic voice: "Delete! Delete!"

The chase was on. Never let anyone say 1200 was too old for childish games. Craig grinned proudly.

"Alfie, Doctor, no running," Sophie laughed.


	3. Chopping Onions

**A/N: **This chapter's length got slightly away from me, because the Doctor loves his speeches. But I really like it. Please review, folks! It inspires me to write and I enjoy reading your feedback.

)O(

Playing with Alfie made him feel somehow young and old at the same time. But it was good, the distraction. He needed that more than anything. When Craig took his son to the park later, giving Sophie some peace to cook dinner, the Doctor offered his help. After all, he did owe them. _You know you don't deserve their kindness, _whispered a dark little voice in the Doctor's head.

"Um, could you chop those onions?"

"Oui, Chef de cuisine," he answered automatically. It took a few moments and her puzzled look before the Doctor realized he hadn't spoken English. "Sorry, force of habit. The French know how to party, but they're very strict about certain formalities."

"Right..." Sophie muttered, turning away. She seemed a bit cold toward him, and it wasn't the first time he had noticed this.

"Are you upset that I'm here, Sophie? Would you like me to go?"

"What? No, of course not!" At this point the beef was tenderized with a bit more force than necessary. She sighed in frustration. "I'm sorry, Doctor, it really isn't your fault. Just...I dunno, it's been hard. And I know it must seem trivial to you. I mean, this isn't World War II or the Great Depression; everyone says we ought to be grateful and happy we live in good times, y'know."

"Now that's not fair," the Doctor said as he resumed chopping onions. "Humans: never give yourselves any credit. You come together when there's a crisis and when there isn't you all smile, pretending everything's fine, but life is never easy. The only difference between those 'bad times' and now is people aren't allowed to be afraid anymore.

"And of course there's plenty to be afraid of. Alien invasions every Christmas, like clockwork, and most of you don't know you're protected at all. You lot have only just reached your own moon, yet already beings from other worlds are coming here and it must feel as though they all have malevolent intentions, because it feels that way to me. And that's only the start of the obstacles a 21st century human faces everyday.

"Sophie Owens, you are brave. Yes, bombs aren't raining from the sky, but in my opinion people are a lot less kind to each other than they should be. I am really, honestly amazed by every single one of you. Oh, just so you know, in the future, you might want to shut me up before I ramble on like this again."

He fell silent, and there was quite a pause before Sophie said: "Doctor, you're crying."

"Oh. Am I?" He slowly touched the moisture on his cheek. "Must be the onions."

)O(

Once Craig and Alfie returned home, they sat down for dinner. The Doctor was extremely jealous because Alfie, being five, got to eat fish fingers instead of pot roast.

"I'm about to tell you something very important. It will quite possibly change your life forever," he told the child, whispering conspiratorially. "You haven't had proper fish fingers until you've had them with custard."

Naturally, saying this caused him to remember the Ponds. That first night when he'd eaten fish custard across the table from little Amelia, who had so much still to come in her future, like Alfie did now. Near the end, the Doctor stayed with them because they were fading fast and also cubes had invaded Earth, Amy made a big bowl of custard and fish fingers. But those good times seemed long gone.

The Doctor looked down at his pot roast and was unusually quiet the rest of the evening.

)O(

"It's not much," Craig warned when he showed the Doctor their guestroom, which really was quite plain and boring. "So, you know, if you want you can take all this stuff and build some sort of alien science-y thing. And there's a bed. Do you...sleep?"

"Occasionally," he replied, sitting on the bed to test its bounciness. Very important quality of a good bed, bounciness. "Ah, but how can I when there's so much to see? Imagine it, Craig, more places than you could visit in eleven lifetimes. People to meet, planets to save, and everything changes all the time. So even if you go back to the same place it's not really the same place, and sometimes you're not the same man. It's beautiful and terrible and...magnificent."

"Sounds like you're eager to get back to it."

"It's hard to resist," the Doctor sighed. "But here is good, too, eh? The slow path. I'm lucky to have a mate like you, Craig. You and Sophie and Alfie. I have no idea what I did to deserve you all."


	4. Bedtime Story

**A/N:** These updates are becoming pretty frequent. Please review!

)O(

It didn't take long at all for the Doctor to grow restless. He'd already taken apart and reassembled everything in his room, and Sophie worried he might do the same with the other rooms in their home. Life was never boring with the Doctor around, and for that reason it seemed like a good idea to keep an eye on him.

"Where's the Doctor?"

"He's building a tree house for Alfie in the backyard," Craig answered. "Although I think it's at least partially for him. Apparently tree houses are cool."

"But we haven't got a tree in the backyard," Sophie said.

"Yeah, he went back in time and planted a tree there, so now we've got one."

She remembered now. Of course there had always been a tree in their backyard, but then she also knew that there was never a tree there. Was this how time travel affected one's brain? How did hiis companions avoid going mad?

The Doctor suddenly appeared holding a hammer. "Craig, can I borrow this?"

"Sure, but haven't you got that fancy screwdriver that can do anything?"

"It can't do wood!" he called over his shoulder, running off towards the unfinished tree house.

Craig and Sophie exchanged equally surprised looks.

)O(

"Alfie, bedtime's in twenty minutes," his mother reminded. The boy had played inside his new tree house until Sophie said he must go back in the house, as it was getting dark. Alfie did not want to sleep, of course. Sleep was so boring. But maybe he could convince the Doctor to share more stories about his many adventures in time and space.

"Can I go ask the Doctor if he'll tell me a story before I go to bed?"

"Oh, I dunno, honey; he might be busy."

"Please, Mummy!" Alfie tried his cutest face, the one he used when begging for something.

"All right," Sophie conceded. "Just don't bother him, okay?"

Thus Alfie headed off toward the guestroom. He found the door slightly ajar and pushed it open. On the bed he saw the Doctor with a crumpled piece of paper in his hand, reading it by the light of a lamp. It felt very personal, and Alfie wondered if he was supposed to see this. What if it was a secret thing? Why did the Doctor look so sad? He seemed happy most of the time.

"Hello, Alfie."

He'd been caught, but the Doctor wasn't angry. In fact, he gestured for Alfie to come sit next to him.

"Doctor," the child began hesitantly. "Daddy thinks you're really sad about something. I heard him and Mummy talking earlier."

"Well, I am sad," was his quiet response. "But sometimes I forget, just for a moment. Have you ever had a friend who moved far away and you couldn't see them anymore?"

"Yeah," Alfie nodded, his young brain completely unfazed by the abrupt change of topic. "My friend Sam's dad got a job in America."

"I had these friends of mine, Amy and Rory. They were more like family. But they're gone now. I lost them. I loved them and I lost them."

"Did you have adventures with them?"

"Oh, yes," the Doctor smiled a little. "The very best ones."

"Will you tell me a story about one of your adventures?"

This was the story he told. It involved a little girl named Amelia Pond, the Girl Who Waited, and Rory Williams, the Last Centurion. A centurion was a Roman soldier. These two people loved each other enough that miracles happened. They ran away with a madman in his blue box. Occasionally they even saved the universe.

Alfie's bedtime arrived before the story ended.


	5. Tuesday Morning

Time passed slowly, like time normally does. This house became very still, dark and silent. Everyone except the Doctor was fast asleep. He concluded long ago that humans slept too much. They wasted precious time. In only a few short hours he'd taught himself how to juggle, dusted most of the house, and repaired a lamp which admittedly he had also broken in an unfortunate accident with a football.

Boredom made the temptation to sneak off almost irresistible. The Doctor found himself visiting his beloved blue box, because she got lonely as well. It was just them and the quiet night.

"I know, old girl. Soon, I promise," he said, placing a hand on the wooden door of his TARDIS. "We'll be off again, just you and me. You miss them too, eh?"

If the Doctor even so much as touched her console, he would never come back. He'd do something stupid. Paradoxes be damned. Knowing this would happen, he forced himself to turn around and went back inside the house.

)O(

"Doctor!" Sophie knocked on the bathroom door for a third time, although she doubted he could hear her over the sound of the shower and his own voice. It had already been forty-five minutes and over a dozen songs, several of which weren't in English. "Are you going to be much longer? I need to go to work soon!"

"Sorry," he apologized, opening the door and stepping out with nothing except a towel wrapped around his waist. "Didn't hear you. It's all yours now."

Really, Sophie could be forgiving, but a half-naked alien wandering through her house was too much.

The Doctor entered the kitchen and began making tea. He found Craig there, who had just returned from taking Alfie to school.

"Fancy an omelet, Craig?"

"Yeah, but could you put some clothes on first?"

In the guest bedroom, he dressed and examined his appearance in the mirror. Something needed to change. Bow-ties were and always would be cool, of course, so it wasn't that. Maybe he should buy another fez or get a new coat. Thoughts for later, then. Now, time to cook breakfast.

He idly skimmed through the newspaper while Craig enjoyed his omelet. The Doctor half-hoped to notice something sinister or alien going on. Oh, that explained it; today was a Tuesday. Nothing interesting ever happened on Tuesdays.

"I've got a job interview today."

"That's brilliant!" the Time Lord smiled. "Here, take the psychic paper. You'll be extremely qualified."

Craig seemed apprehensive. "I dunno...I don't really want to lie to my boss before I even have the job."

"Why not? Isn't that the point of an interview?"

"No, the point is to find out who's most suitable for the work."

"And no one lies?" the Doctor wondered.

"Well...sometimes, yeah," Craig admitted.

"Then this," he reasoned, placing the little black book of psychic paper on the kitchen table, "is merely a more efficient way of telling them what they want to hear. You don't even have to lie. But don't let your mind wander if you use it."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I want to make sure you and your family are okay," the Doctor replied softly. It was his serious tone. "I want you to always be okay, but I know that's not how it works. I shouldn't be here. Bad things are going to start happening if I stay. The universe decided long ago that I can never have a holiday."

"It's been pretty quiet so far," Craig offered.

"Exactly..."


	6. Creating Soldiers

**A/N: **No Alfie in this chapter, I'm afraid. It's past his bedtime. I'm sorry for the delay but please review!

)O(

Craig came home with a cheap bottle of champagne and declared that the interview had gone extremely well. They wanted him back for a second one next week, but apparently with references like his, it was just a formality. The Doctor clinked glasses with Craig and Sophie, took a sip, then spit it out. He hadn't always detested alcohol so much. That was new, but consistent so far.

"You know, Craig, if this job doesn't work out for some reason, I could try pulling some strings with UNIT for you. Dunno how I didn't think of it before."

"Who're they, then?" Craig asked.

"Military organization. We go way back, and forwards, probably," the Doctor said. "They specialize in extraterrestrial defense. They handle the paperwork after I save you lot. Sometimes they help me, too. And if for some reason I can't be there, UNIT does whatever is necessary to keep this planet safe."

"Fighting aliens, though," Sophie chimed in. "I mean, that one time with the spaceship in Craig's flat. Doctor, you said the solar system could have blown up! God knows what kind of trouble you got into while I was away for the weekend. We need to think about Alfie. It's too dangerous."

"Sophie, Christmas is dangerous," the alien reminded her. "I'm sorry, but that's the time you live in. You're absolutely right; you know what really matters and I would never suggest Craig risk his life. Leave that to old men like me with nothing left. But I am saying he can help, in a small way, to ensure there is a future for Alfie."

"Hi, I'm sitting right here," Craig raised a hand slightly. "Doesn't anyone want to know what I think?"

His wife considered it. "Of course we do."

"I think the Doctor has a point. Why should I waste my life in a boring job when I can make the world a safer place for our son? You've seen what's out there, Soph. Besides, the last time he was here..." He looked at the Time Lord, who nodded reassuringly.

"It's okay. You can tell her."

"Well, there was this fixed point in time or something...and the Doctor thought he was going to die. So he might not be around forever..."

While Sophie warmed up to the idea a bit, the Doctor began having doubts, even though it was his suggestion. He'd watched too many of his friends become soldiers. Rose Tyler was fighting aliens in a parallel universe. Jack Harkness led Torchwood now. Martha Jones had wanted to be a doctor before joining UNIT, and in her heart she always would be. Rory Williams...

His children of time, defenders of the Earth, such brilliant people he fashioned into weapons. They did it to impress him, or save him, or protect their families. It still left a bitter taste in his mouth. Maybe that was the champagne.

"Doctor?"

"Yes, Amy?" He blinked from his reverie. "Sophie. I meant...Sophie. Of course."

"You all right, mate?" Craig asked. Both humans were obviously concerned.

"I'm fine. Just a bit too much to drink, that's all. I'll go lie down for a while, shall I?"

They exchanged worried looks as the Doctor went off to his room, knowing he hadn't actually consumed a drop of alcohol so that must be a lie. He was starting to fear he would be alive forever at this rate. Everyone seemed so willing to die for him. And why no alien invasion yet? The universe never allowed its only Time Lord to rest for very long. Something didn't add up here.

The Doctor rarely permitted himself to cry, mostly because it was so hard to stop. But he cried silently in the dark room. He was unspeakably tired of losing them all. His hearts physically ached. Although it felt childish, the Doctor missed his mother more than anyone else at that moment.


End file.
